Actor, co-producer Gérard Jugnot mortgaged his Paris apartment to help finance the film. The bet paid off, and he ended up making over 5 million euros for 'Les Choristes' as actor and co-producer. He earned the title of the highest-paid French actor in 2004, overtaking Jean Reno and Gérard Depardieu.
For the role of Pierre Morhange (Jean-Baptiste Maunier), the filmmakers chose to hire an actual boys choir soloist. Jean-Baptiste is the soloist of Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc, the choir who also sang the songs in the film.
In 2004, this was the #1 movie at the French box office, with more than 8.6 million admissions.
The film was shot in the middle of summer which was hard for the cast to wear winter clothes since the scenes were supposed to be in winter (in January) .